The Stone Canal
Follow up to The Star Fraction and second book in the Fall Revolution series
Category: A-
mange?
Roadside Picnic
Seminal Soviet SF, the source for Stalker – the highly acclaimed Tarkovsky film
sming?
Rainbow’s End
A near-future techno thriller by the master of singularity SF
mr magenta?
Engine City
Third and final book of the Engines of Light sequence sees
space suit?
Dark Light
Second book in the Engines of Light trilogy
titov?
Cosmonaut Keep
The first of the Engines of Light sequence, this rather wonderful book is set in two
nails?
The Land of Laughs
Carroll is one of those writers whose name gets dropped from time to time as a great writer if you hang around people who love fantasy. Revered for his original ideas and genuine skill as a writer he’s been on my ‘to read’ list for a long time. I bought two of his books a few years back to do just that. I had difficulty getting into the mood of the first book I tried (Voice of Our Shadow), so I put off trying again for a while.
The Land of Laughs is the story of a man who pursues his obsession with a children’s writer to the extent that he takes a sabbatical from his job to write a biography. With his similarly obsessed girlfriend in tow he travels to the writer’s hometown to seek the permission of his daughter to write the biography.
An undercurrent of weirdness builds up through the story that powers a series of twists in the final third that transforms a pretty normal story into a fantasy.
I found it very interesting, and it certainly kept my attention but there’s something deeply unsettling about the last few pages of the book that make it hard to process properly.
I’d certainly recommend it if you’re looking for something beyond generic fantasy.
earthworks?
Lords and Ladies
The third book in the Witches sequence finds them freshly returned home from the events of Witches Abroad. The story takes a definite turn towards the Shakespearean again, with the plot following the lines of A Midsummers’ Night Dream.
All sorts of really interesting things happen in this one and the storytelling is very strong. It’s a pity that he reused so much of it for Carpe Jugulum, which is a much inferior book.
Thoroughly recommended, but do give Wyrd Sisters and Witches Abroad a read before starting this one though.
sandwich?
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
The final book of the Harry Potter series arrived at my door at 8.05am today. Four and a half hours later I had finished reading it.
I have to say that overall I’m quite happy with the way things turn out in the end. Rowling managed to tie up loads of the loose ends but not leave everything too pat. It was also quite refreshing to see her be utterly ruthless in dispatching beloved characters. The only problem is the serious amount of nothing much happening before things start to take off into one insane set piece after another.
I never make recommendations about Harry Potter books, you’ll either be reading it or avoiding it like the plague.
As for me, I quite liked it.
curious yellow?
Glasshouse
Stross is not a writer who lacks confidence or ideas and in this novel it leads him to deal with post-singularity identity while simultaneously taking aim at prescribed gender roles within society.
It opens in the far future with a man who has elected to have his memory wiped. He begins a relationship with a woman when, suddenly, he finds himself in danger from a past he does not remember. To escape the danger he enters an utterly secure experiment studying 20th century gender roles. In the study he awakes to find himself in the body of a woman and expected to conform to a role he cannot begin to understand.
This book has a cracking couple of opening chapters then it hits a lull that it took me a force of will to overcome.
However once it gets past the lull, it cracks along at a stunning pace until it hits a satisfying denouement.
This is one for fans of top-notch modern science fiction. It’s less than subtle at times, so it may annoy someone expecting better writing. It’s jammed full of ideas though and will entertain sci-fans properly